A Reflection of Who I Am

Posts tagged ‘Paula Nolte’

I found a folder with 50 or more emails from 1999 to 2000. I was not equipped to respond favorably to all of the submission and query letters. As I read through the emails again, I wondered if they ever found a publisher to take on their project. I even searched on Google for one.

Her name was Maria. No last name, just Maria. She was from Russia. She enclosed the title and identified 23 chapters. She was also seeking asylum. There were a number of books with similar sub-titles but not by an author named Maria.

I received an email from a poet in his seventies. I wondered if he lived a long and healthy life and if he was still waiting for his book of 100 poems to be published.

The following is an excerpt from that article. If you have read it before, just skip past it to the # # #.

After too many rejections of her manuscripts by mainstream publishers, aspiring writer Deborah Karper of Voorhees, NJ was toying with the idea of self-publishing her fiction when she met Gary La Forest.

Jake Garrison, Garrison Printing with Deborah Karper 1999

LaForest, a Philadelphia resident . . . had been managing the speaking tours of Dave Goerlitz, who was RJ Reynolds’ leading Winston Man between 1980 and 1986 and is now an anti-tobacco activist. He had been trying without success to get publishers interested in a book on Goerlitz, the “golden boy” in those ubiquitous billboard ads.

Karper found Goerlitz’ story so compelling that she promptly launched Gladstone Publishing. . . “My intention was to go off and write and publish my own stories, but it was an opportunity to help Gary and Dave get their book out,” Karper said.

Karper has not stopped there. . . . She was back at the printer, going over proofs of a second manuscript, NO NONSENSE, NATHAN!, a children’s book by a business associate, Paula Nolte. Like LaForest, Nolte had shopped around her book to publishers, but received no takers. Karper liked the story and the illustrations, and a first run of 2,000 copies is set. . .

. . .”I want to do about 10 books a year, all children’s books,” Karper said. “Where would I find my writers? In supermarkets, daycare centers, on the bus, the Web . . . I’ve gotten 5 manuscripts from people who have seen our website. . .”

. . . Future books will be edited by LaForest, who has helped a number of public figures, including the Winston Man, write and sell their stories, and Karper will hire other professional editors.

. . . She has the full backing of her husband Donald, who is an engineer. In fact, it was Donald who landed her next writer — Iris Calaci, formerly of Voorhees, now of Florida.

The book, MATTHEW MOUSE, is one of the 10 books she plans to publish next year. It is a “diversity story” about a church mouse who learns to get along with Christian, the cat. A sequel, in which Matthew and Christian take off for the big city, is planned.

Karper, who is African American, said she also hoped to team up with LaForest to nurture and publish young African American writers in this region. The market for books about African Americans is estimated at $320 million annually in retail sales.

This, LaForest said, is something he is looking forward to. “I know there is poetry out there,” he said, referring to the quality, not the type of writing. “They are trying to get stuff done, and they don’t have many outlets.”

Karper works full time at both Gladstone and Direct Konnections (her computer consulting firm she founded 15 years ago.) She said she hoped to get Gladstone to a point, conceivably in 2 years, where she would not need the income from Direct Konnections to support it.

At that time, Karper hopes, she will be able to go back to her postponed dream of becoming a published author.

# # #

I was surprised at the speed in which Gladstone Publishing Services became a public name. I won’t say household name, but for the individuals who sought my services, Gladstone was a beacon in the storm.

Some of what is not in this excerpt is the quote from a seasoned book reviewer. He called me a “California Dreamer”. He said I was the type of person who thought they could make something work just because they dreamed it. Well all I have to say is, fifteen years later, I am still dreaming and working to help others achieve their dream.

Animal Talk: An Illustrated Workbook of Animal Sayings

From this article, I met Dr. Donald Morse, a dentist and his associate Dr. Marvin Herring, a medical doctor who submitted a query for “It’s a Zoo Out There”. We ended up publishing “Animal Talk: An Illustrated Workbook of Animal Sayings”. It was Dr. Morse’s vision to bring this workbook to ESL teaching programs and Senior Living Facilities. The illustrations were deemed unprofessional by a reviewer; nevertheless the book is a jewel.

My time with Dr. Morse was life changing. I learned more about editing illustrated books from his project than any other project that came across my desk. I also learned about being youthful regardless of my chronological age. Here is a link to an article from Life Extension Magazine. He was a body building champion at the age of 74. Just another influence in who I am today. Not a body builder, but someone who is not on any prescription medicine and young in my mental and emotional outlook on life. I am so thankful for the people God has placed in my life along this journey.

No Nonsense Nathan is a charming new book from Gladstone Publishing that teaches kids all about the art of compromise and sharing. Two to seven year olds will be able to relate to Nathan, who spends his week not wanting to share or cooperate. When he discovers a magical way to turn everyone to stone and be free to do what he wants, he also discovers that isolating himself can be lonely, and compromise can be fun.

Paula Nolte, Author and Illustrator

“This is the first in a series of books about Nathan and his friends,” explained author Paula Nolte. This book series is designed not only to teach life lessons in an engaging way, but also to open up a dialogs between child and parent.
Nolte, who’s been a teacher for 10 years, has seen first hand how challenging it is to raise a little one and work outside the home.
“I’ve taught in England, Canada, and the US,” she said. “After a while I began to observe that children were spending a lot more time in pre-school and daycare. I felt a need to create some stories that parents could share with their children to open up and discuss issues that I felt were important to their age group.”
Nolte is multi-talented. Not only is she a teacher and author, but she has also done the illustrations for the book. Nolte’s illustrations are delightful and rich with detail.
She recently began giving creative writing workshops at elementary schools around the Tri-State area. Children not only get to meet the author, but they learn all about what is takes to produce a book.
“What we’ve done is go into the classroom and give children an illustration from the book.” Nolte said. “Children are asked to observe the picture and then write their own tale of what they feel is happening.
“Then, I teach the kids all about the fine art of editing. In the end, we take the pages they have created and publish their book, which resides in the school’s library,” she said. “The children just love it!” She also autographs the student’s copies of Non Nonsense Nathan and delights in fielding questions from young future writers.

It all started with an interview in the Philadelphia Inquirer. I received over 30 emails from first-time writers looking to get published. But, one of these emails came from “Love Krissy”, a teacher in Harrison Township. It was her class the school program was launched. Somewhere in the many boxes is stored the contributions from her class as they described Nathan or wrote themselves into the story. Hmmm, how long will it take me to find them?